No matter how well you plan, emergencies do
happen. First of all, make sure you have all your important papers
with you-not packed with your household goods. Numbers for your
Commanding Officer and your sponsor can be invaluable in case of emergency while
in transit.
The American Red Cross is always available for emergency aid
anywhere you may be. Contact the nearest chapter (phone numbers are
usually listed in the white pages of the local phone directory). They
can sometimes help with emergency financial assistance and contacting
individuals that will need to know where you are and what's
happening.
Plan for the unexpected and it probably won't happen.
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society can provide financial emergency assistance
based upon need, through either loans or, when there is a particular
hardship, grant. Categories of financial assistance include: Basic
living expenses (food, shelter, utilities), medical not covered by CHAMPUS,
dental not covered by DDP, funeral expenses, emergence transportation, essential
car repairs, pay and allotment problems, disasters and assistance for widows,
mothers and children.
The American Red Cross can also help in times of
emergency. Quick communications with home about family emergencies is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including verification of death or
serious illness of immediate family, birth announcements to fathers deployed
overseas, and health and welfare reports resulting from a lack of communication
over a long period of time.
The Red Cross also offers financial
assistance for military personnel and their immediate families in the form of
interest free loans or grants when a loan would place a greater hardship on the
family.